The Shadow of the Light
by KoishNoish
Summary: With Starkiller Base destroyed and the New Republic in disarray, war threatens to once again take over the galaxy. For both the Jedi and Sith in training the path will be long and strenuous, riddled with death and despair and no one knows where they may stand by the end. (Takes place after TFA)


**Author's Note;**

This is going to be (hopefully) a long story which is going to focus mostly, but not entirely, on Kylo Ren/ Ben Solo. When watching the Force Awakens he was by far the most interesting character for me. A lot of this is **not** cannon. The only stuff of Star Wars I've seen is the films and a bit of that _Clone Wars_ cartoon, so I am not awfully well versed in Star Wars lore. However, I think I can give this a pretty good shot and it's a story I want to tell. Most of the story will not be in the same form as this chapter, this is not a Kylo Ren origin story, it will take place from soon after the ending of Episode VII. I don't know if I'm going to put in a romance (probably not) but we'll see where the story takes us.

I do not own Star Wars or any of it's properties.

/O\

Ben hadn't meant to. He really hadn't, he promised, but the stunned looks from both mum and dad, and the wide eyes from the Wookiee, didn't disclose to Ben whether they believed him or not. All he had wanted to do was get a glass of water, simple as that, it was one of those rare weeks where mum wasn't busy and dad was in town, and Ben had been delighted to spend some time with the two of them. Too little did the family ever come together and just spend time in the other's company. Dad always had transport work, now working as a glorified deliveryman for the New Republic, and mum always had meetings and arrangements to be seen to, being a major voice and senator for the republic also. This usually left Ben in the care of the often annoying C3PO and no matter how many times Ben told mum he didn't want to be looked after by the droid his mum often shut him down and told him she didn't have the time. It was frustrating.

Dad wasn't much better in the rare moments Ben spent with him. Often Ben remained at home with mum on Hosnian Prime but now and again, usually once a month or so, Ben instead spent a week with his father on the Millennium Falcon travelling across space to the systems loyal to the Republic. Often these transports consisted of simple goods and wares but it always made a nice change to Ben from the usual monotony of Hosnian Prime. Except it wasn't much better. Dad, as mum explained, was a busy man with a lot on his plate. He was constantly being contacted and given new orders, new goods to deliver, in an endless busy cycle that never seemed to come to an end. Although Ben spent a week on the Falcon he would be surprised if he saw his father for even a day. Chewbacca was always good company though, the massive furry Wookiee often good fun when he wasn't acting as co-pilot.

But when mum and dad were together, as they all were now as they flew in the Falcon, then there seemed to be no separating them and it made Ben feel undeniably happy. Mum and dad never seemed to leave the others sight, the whole lot of them would play games or just talk and everything seemed right in the world.

Ben had just had to ruin it. He had only wanted a glass of water, only that, but instead of standing to get it he had unconsciously raised his hand for the glass instead. The glass had flown across the entire room into his hand before Ben dropped it in astonishment. All eyes now stared upon him, all of them different colours but all the same in their disbelief and shock.

"Sorry." Ben didn't know what else to say. He didn't mean to break the glass. His words, however, seemed to awaken all the others.

"Ah great."

"Han," snapped mum angrily before looking back at Ben, "Ben, honey, why don't you go to your room? Chewie can go with you if you like?" Chewbacca merely nodded from his place across the room.

"Mum… I'm not in trouble, am I?" across the table dad had gotten up and whipped out a bottle of something that Ben couldn't name. Mum followed his gaze and frowned slightly.

"No Ben, it's fine, there's nothing to be sorry for. Your dad and I just need to talk for a moment, okay? Nothing's wrong." She hugged him tightly, Ben still feeling that all was most certainly not fine. "Just go to your room for a bit sweetie, okay? Can you do that?" Ben merely nodded, jumping down from the table and avoiding the glass before moving to his room. Chewie made to move but Ben smiled and shook his head, plan already in mind, as he made his way to his room and then pressed his ear to the door as it shut behind him.

He had learned some while back that the walls and doors of the Falcon were nowhere near as thick or soundproof as dad thought they were and he had overheard some rather funny conversations in his time. He knew there would be no fun to be had in this one though. He was in trouble, dad's reaction alone solidified that, he just wanted to know how much trouble. Ben heard another door open and close and assumed it was Chewie leaving the room, leaving his parents in peace.

"This is fucking typical." Ben almost winced at the word. He had heard his dad only use the word before when he was angry with someone, really angry with someone. Ben heard two cups of liquid being poured out.

"Han, be reasonable." There was a laugh at that.

"Reasonable? Leia, did you see what just happened?"

"Yes, Han, I know what happened. We always knew this might happen."

"I know that Leia, but jeez, I never actually _thought_ …" there was a long silence here where all Ben could hear was noises of drink being consumed, mother and father both. Ben just kept silent, heart racing.

"What do we do?" this was dad again, his voice the most uncertain Ben had ever heard it.

"I don't know yet… Luke?" Ben blinked at the mention of Uncle Luke, his mother's brother. Ben had always liked Uncle Luke, he had the best stories out of anyone and he spoke of things no one else seemed to understand, things like _the force_ and _lightsabers_ , things Ben had read about in books and been taught of in class but had never quite been told about with such accuracy and reverie. Uncle Luke was nice too, whenever he visited on Hosnian Prime he often brought a present, often some weird food from a planet Ben had never heard of, but always in good faith and a wide smile. Uncle Luke always said he knew Ben would grow up to be a great man, just like another Ben he once knew, but when Ben asked about who he shared the name with Uncle Luke often turned sad and sombre and avoided the subject entirely. Ben didn't mind though, he loved the stories all the same of _Jedi_ and _Sith Lords_ and the ominous _Galactic Empire_ that Ben knew had been a dark time for all.

"He's too young. Besides, we don't know anything really, maybe it's just a fluke?" this was his dad again, sounding cool and composed.

"Don't try and dodge this Han, it's no fluke and you know it. And he's not _too old_ , Luke has a boy there that's four."

"An orphan, Leia, that he found on Zylus Gamma, and he's not teaching him… _yet_ , he's just looking after the kid."

"We can't leave this Han." There was an odd weight to those words that Ben didn't understand, a seriousness he couldn't put together, a piece of the story he did not know about. It was a minute before his dad replied.

"He won't turn out like him."

"You can't know that."

"We raised him good."

"Maybe that doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters. He's had a good life, there's no war, there's only peace, there's no Empire, no dark side and no one to hurt him. We've done good Leia." Ben was straining to listen now. The walls were ineffective when it came to normal voices but now his parents were speaking in almost whispers and Ben had to strain his ears to hear the words that follow.

"Sometimes… oh Han. Sometimes I feel like I'm hardly even there. That I hardly even see him, our own son Han, how did that happen?" Ben could hear sniffling.

"Hey, Leia, don't think like that. You're doing your job to make sure this all works, okay? Without you the Republic would have fallen apart on day one, alright? You're making the whole universe a better place and not just for everyone else, but our son. He knows that. It's all gonna work out Leia, trust me." He heard her mothers very slight sobs soften and he knew his parents were hugging. He felt like leaving them to it but he had to know…

"What are we goona do?" Silence for a moment.

"We'll see if it happens again."

"And when it does?" silence.

"We send him to the only person who knows anything about this stuff." Mum had stopped sobbing and silence reigned for a little.

"Luke will be good for him."

"I know." Ben felt a weight settle in his heart. "Let's go to bed."

"It's hardly gone midday."

"In space, it hardly matters does it?" the sound of a door opening and closing notified Ben that his parents were now beyond his hearing, but he'd heard everything he need to. What he'd done wasn't bad but it wasn't good. What had he done? He didn't even know. He remembered Uncle Luke telling him about something similar, he'd read about stuff that _sounded_ like what he'd done, but it couldn't be… could it?

He'd only wanted a glass of water, only a small one too. They had all been smiling and laughing, watching dad destroy everyone else on the game board. They'd been having fun, they'd been a family. How had Ben managed to destroy that with one little want, one small gesture.

They were going to send him away. He understood perfectly well what that's all meant. They were going to send him to Uncle Luke and leave him. His heart sunk a little and he looked to his hands. _If_ he did it again. So he wouldn't. Simple as that. He'd just never do… whatever he'd done again.

He'd never use the force again.

/O\

 **Additional Note;**

I've re-uploaded this chapter after the last one managed to fuck itself up and post something incomprehensible. I apologise for that.


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